Blueberry & Sour Cream Coffeecake

A friend of mine has a small green house where she recently coaxed a bushel of blueberries out in the very early throes of March. Amazing, no? So when she offered me some, there was no way I was going to turn her down. Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits, their deep hues, summer time taste, the memories I associate with them, frenetically popping them into my mouth with such eager gusto. I decided to make some spring-y with them, a sort of baking magic spell to help coax warmer weather in a bit earlier this year.

This is a delicious coffeecake that enchants anyone who tries it. It’s a traditional coffeecake with its delicious cinnamon-brown sugar swirl, but the addition of blueberries gives it a nice burst of fresh flavor.

I know blueberries aren't in season (maybe in Chile) but really, some thawed out frozen blueberries are great, and lend itself to a nice taste of warmer days still to come.

Blueberry Sour Cream Coffeecake
Makes 20 cupcakes / 350 F oven

What You’ll Need…
3/4 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 eggs
1 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Powdered sugar for garnish

What You'll Do...
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each.

2) Mix in the sour cream and the vanilla extract, mix well.

3) Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Mix into the batter until just incorporated.

4) Fold in the blueberries, being sure not to break or crush them. Roughly fold in the brown sugar and cinnamon, being sure it stays in large swirls of cinnamony-sugar goodness.

5) Spoon into a 13x9 pan which has been lightly greased and floured. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350F. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Variations…

Feel free to switch the blueberries out for other berries. Chopped rhubarb is fantastic in this as well during spring.

A variety of other spices might work here which could allow departure from a traditional coffee cake, such as ground ginger or even a chai spice mix.